Make sure your second home is protected while you’re not there

So at long last you have managed to find your perfect place in the sun, it’s the ideal holiday retreat you always dreamed of and it gives you the chance to escape for a few glorious sunny weeks of each year. It’s a wonderful idea, and a great way to spend the summer, relaxing in your second home and enjoying sunnier climes without the worries of hotel fees and other guests.

But problems can arise when you view your home purely as a holiday retreat, and not pay too much mind to how it will fare through the winter months when you’re not around to take care of it. A lot of second home owners fall into the trap of believing that their overseas property insurance will cover them for any problems that may arise throughout the whole year, but in fact many policies contain conditions that can leave the claim invalid if the property is damaged whilst unoccupied.

The most common trap that people fall into with second home insurance is not realising that their policy requires them to fulfil certain obligations for the claim to be valid. Often hidden away in the small print, you could be required to switch off and drain the whole water system when leaving the house unattended, visiting the property at least once every 30 days, or even performing weekly checks.

Your second home could be left without cover if something happened and these conditions are not met, so it’s important to thoroughly check your policy, read the small print and make sure there are no catches. If you need to, upgrade your policy – some second home insurance companies like Schofields offer insurance for holiday homes that remains valid throughout the year without these requirements. 

Of course prevention is better than cure, and you should do everything in your power to protect your second home against the dangers it could face over the winter. Security is key, and it’s important to make sure that no valuables are left in sight and that the house is secure. It’s a good idea to have a local neighbour or agent check on your holiday home regularly to make sure everything is as it should be.

Another common problem that can arise in unattended holiday homes is frozen or burst pipes during the winter. The unexpected cold winter of last year left hundreds of holiday owners in trouble, finding their second homes damaged by water as a result of being unprepared. Many of these also found that their insurance policies did not cover them. Prevention from disasters like this cannot be guaranteed but there are some precautions you could take which could save you a lot of bother in the future.

Firstly, turning off the heating through the winter is a bad idea – yes it means you won’t have to worry about heating bills, but allowing the property to fall below freezing could cause serious damage to the pipes, which would cost a lot more. Make sure all pipes are thoroughly insulated – don’t forget there are probably a few in the loft space above the roof insulation where heat from the house cannot rise to. Turn off the water mains to limit the amount of leakage if a pipe does burst, and if you do discover a problem don’t try and deal witb it yourself, call an emergency plumber immediately!